Hiking Three Rivers State Park

Hiking Three Rivers State Park was an impromptu decision, since my wife and I had driven up from Orlando to explore Torreya State Park over a 3-day weekend. Staying in nearby Grand Ridge, I found we were much closer to Three Rivers than Torreya, so… As it turned out, it was a great decision to use one of our days exploring these beautiful trails.

Nestled on the shores of Lake Seminole, neighboring Georgia sits just across the water. The lake is really the confluence of 2 rivers and a creek, all flowing into Florida from Georgia; The Chattahoochee River forms a long stretch of the FL/GA border to the northwest, the Flint River flows through Bainbridge, GA to the northeast, and Spring Creek flows down from the north. From here they flow south as the Apalachicola River.

The rolling landscape is covered in beautiful forest, both deciduous and evergreen, with deep ravines carved by rain runoff. Since the nice lady who greeted us mentioned a family of 4 bald eagles on the Eagle Trail, we decided to start in that direction by following the Dry Creek Trail.

Fall was in the air, colorful leaves gliding down all around like giant snowflakes. Soon after we branched off Dry Creek to the Eagle Trail loop (one way) we were hiking down old forest roads through a pine forest bordered by farmland on one side and Lake Seminole on another. On a side note, this was also marked for bicycling.

Stiff necks from looking up in the pine trees for an eagle nest, we were starting to think we might have missed it. We even followed 2 spur trails indicated by tags on iron rods, though we had no idea what the markers meant. Finally, we spotted one of the eagles perched high along the shoreline. Twice as we hiked further a pair glided overhead, largely obscured from sight by the forest canopy…but no nest.

However, nearing the end of the loop, I eventually spotted the nest. So if you do the Eagle Trail, save your neck until marker 11, then start looking off and up to your right. You’ll see it maybe 30 yards in, before you reach marker 12. You’re welcome. 😉

We hiked back through the other half of the Dry Creek trail to the picnic area where we started. After a short rest stop, we then made a loop of the Lake View Trail and the Ridge Trail, which pretty much covered the rest of the hiking/biking trails.

Conclusion? This is a sweet little gem that’s hiding in plain sight. There is a large dock, one rental cabin and a small campground with all the amenities. I hear it’s some of the best fishing in the state. You could also paddle hundreds of miles from here, if you were so inclined. Interestingly, although the campground was full, we never saw another person on any of the trails. We had the entire forest to ourselves. Perfect. So take a look at the Photo Gallery and/or the video slideshow below to see for yourself.

Looking for other great places to experience the wonders of Florida’s outdoors? See our Bucket List and Where-to-Go for incredible places to hike, mountain bike, paddle and more all over the Sunshine State. So get on out there and enjoy Florida’s Natural Wonders!